


Warm Under Covers

by avxry



Series: Private Fears in Public Places [4]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Asexual James Madison, Cold, Drinking, Fluff, M/M, Power Outage, Talking, alex mentions his past friendship with mads and how it fell through, cuteness, pre slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 07:55:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8703967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avxry/pseuds/avxry
Summary: "I'd rather freeze in your arms // than be warm under covers."The power goes out in their apartment building, so Alexander joins Thomas, who has a space heater and some wine.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this will probably make more sense if you read the others first but it will also probably be okay

Alexander puts on his fuzzy socks and his favorite sweatshirt and settles into the couch with his plushiest blanket and a warm cup of coffee, grabbing the television remote and flicking through the channels until he finds a documentary on the Constitution. He smiles to himself, takes a sip, and snuggles even further into the blanket, relishing in the fact that today is Friday (and though he loves his job, the weekend is welcomed).

It had been a long day at work, and watching the History Channel always relaxes him. He's seen this one before, but it's interesting, nonetheless.

He feels the tension in his shoulders release slowly. He curls his legs up beside him and rests his head on the back of the couch.

And then the power goes out.

The TV flashes off and fades to black, the lights around him doing the same. He hears the radiator cut off, and it's probably just his imagination, but it already feels colder.

He groans out loud and shuts his eyes. This is definitely not what he needs right now. He knows that he should check if everyone else is having the same issue, but he really is very warm under the blanket, and he's like to preserve that warmth for just a bit longer.

Finally, he sighs and wraps the blanket around him as he walks to the door, opening it to see that the hallway lights are off, too, so it isn't just him. Others are beginning to shuffle along the hall with the phone lights on, but he doesn't see the point. He returns to his couch and tries to regain the warmth he had before.

He keeps drinking his coffee, savoring its heat. When he takes the last sip, the room suddenly seems even colder than before. He shivers.

He makes a deal with himself: if the power isn't on in twenty minutes, he'll go over to Thomas's apartment and see if he knows what's going on (honestly, he just wants to see Thomas outside of work, but he won't admit that).

Twenty minutes pass quickly, and he's nearly shivering, the cold night air worming its way into the building. He tugs his blanket around him tighter, turns on his phone flashlight, and finds himself standing in front of Thomas's door, knocking over the sound of people still milling about here and there.

Thomas opens the door, and Alexander accidentally thinks that the man looks positively adorable. His hair is tied back into a bun, a few strands falling around his face. He's in fuzzy pajama pants and a sweater, a blanket draped across his shoulders and slippers on his feet.

"Hamilton?"

Alexander's brain definitely does not sputter at the sight of him. He says, "I was just seeing if you knew what's going on."

Thomas raises an eyebrow, suspicious of the flimsy excuse. "The whole building is down. Probably just a circuit or something."

Alexander nods awkwardly, pulling the blanket closer. He doesn't want to ask if he can come in, but he wishes that Thomas would offer. Being cold sucks, but being cold with Thomas doesn't sound so bad. At least the power outage has given him a reason to come over.

After a moment, Thomas says, "Uh, did you want to come in?"

"Oh," Alexander says, as if he were surprised at the thought, "um, it's fine." He curses himself for turning down the offer.

Thomas continues, though. "I have a battery connected to a space heater, so it's pretty warm," he explains with a shrug and a cute little smile, which transforms into a grin. "I also have wine."

Alexander grins back. "Well, why didn't you say so?" he teases, and Thomas lets him inside with a smile.

Alexander has never been in Thomas's apartment before. There are a few candles here and there, but it's still too dark to get a good look at it. He tries not to be so disappointed.

Thomas leads him to the little space heater in front of his couch. "Have a seat," he says, "I'll get the wine."

Thomas leaves the room, leaving Alexander sitting on the couch quietly, his blanket still around him. He tucks his feet beneath him and sticks his hands out to the heater, feeling the warmth on his fingers.

This is odd, he thinks. At work, he and Thomas can barely even look at each other. At work, Thomas is _Jefferson_ , not Thomas. And now Alexander is sitting on his couch during a blackout, about to drink wine in the near darkness, the only lights coming from his phone and a few large candles on the end tables.

Thomas returns with the bottle of wine and two glasses, placing one in Alexander's hand and popping the cork on the bottle.

Neither says a word as he pours the drinks. The silence continues as they take their first sips. Thomas smiles to himself, and he's suddenly glad that he's obscured in darkness. In all honesty, he had been wondering if he should knock on Alexander's door and ask if he wanted to join him (in actual honesty, he had been wishing that he had the courage to ask, and then wishing that Alexander would come over on his own).

Thomas takes another sip and draws his legs up to his chest, fitting himself into as small a space as possible. From what little light is coming from their phones and the candles, he can see Alexander bundled in his blankets, and then he spots the fuzzy green socks, and he melts. He tries to hide his expanding smile.

"This is good," Alexander comments, breaking the tranquility (doesn't he always?). "The wine."

Thomas nods, and Alexander can just barely make out his head nodding. "The most expensive brand at Wal-Mart," he jokes. Alexander giggles and it's _so damn cute Thomas focus._

It's quiet again for a minute before Alexander says, "You look a lot like Lafayette with your hair back."

Thomas chuckles through a sip of wine. "James would agree," he replies, tipping his glass forward.

"James?"

"Madison," he supplies.

"Oh," Alexander nods, taking another sip. "I'm not on a first name basis with him anymore, so."

"What actually happened between you two?" Thomas asks. This is a question that he's asked James several times, but James usually just shrugs and says something about Alexander getting annoying or something, but Thomas has always suspected that there had been a different reason.

"It's . . . complicated," Alexander answers warily.

Thomas gives him a look. "Hamilton, if I can comprehend your ramblings about finances and whatnot, I think I can comprehend this."

Alexander chuckles, a different reaction than he would have had were they at work. He shrugs, "Okay, but just remember: you asked."

"Just tell me," Thomas demands with a roll of his eyes, but he's smiling a little.

Alexander takes another sip of his wine. "Washington had us work on this big advertising project when the company was just starting. It was the two of us and John Jay, but he's not important," he begins, waving his hand around. "Anyway, Madison and I became really good friends over the course of about six months. I mean, I did way more work than he did, but whatever. Nearing the end of our partnership, we got a lot . . . closer. Well, I thought we did, but anyway. Long story short, I got a little drunk, tried to kiss him, he told me no, I was a little too persistant - which I entirely regret and have apologized for countless times - and then he stopped talking to me."

"You tried to kiss James?" Thomas asks incredulously. When Alexander nods, he gives him a look. "You were friends with him for six months and hadn't figured out that he's incredibly asexual?"

"I know, I know," Alexander says defensively, throwing his free hand up. "I'm a shitty person, you don't have to remind me." He takes another sip and adds, "And like I said, I was drunk, and I've apologized hundreds of times since then."

"And that's it?"

"Well, our visions for the company also started veering in different directions," Alexander continues factually. "We disagreed more than we didn't, so the extra strain just kind of ended it."

"Huh," Thomas huffs thoughtfully, taking another swig of his wine. He thinks for a moment, and tries to not be jealous of James. How did he get Alexander to have feelings for him?

"Madison never told you this?" Alexander asks curiously. He had figured that Madison would have told Thomas by now, if only to fuel the other man's distaste for him.

Thomas shakes his head. "He just always said you got too annoying."

Alexander scoffs and brings his legs up to his chest, careful not to spill his wine. "That's ridiculous," he says confidently. "I've always been exactly as annoying as I am now."

"You take pride in that, I see," Thomas jokes, a little smile playing on his lips. He accidentally thinks that Alexander isn't annoying at all.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Alexander confirms with a grin, tilting his glass back and draining its contents. Thomas does the same and grabs the bottle again, pouring them each another glass.

They keep chatting, subconsciously moving closer to each other as the night drags on. They're kept relatively warm by the heater, still going strong. The candles surround them in a gentle halo of illumination, softening their features and voices, enveloping the room in a false sense of warmth.

They finish their next glass, and then one more, and they're warm inside now, just a little tipsy, just enough to giggle a little too much as stories that aren't really that funny.

The power is still off by the time they quietly fall asleep, wrapped in their blankets, curled into themselves. They aren't touching, but they shuffle slightly closer in the night, gravitating to each other's warmth.

Alexander wakes up first to see that the power is back on. The battery had run dead, cutting off the heater, but the building had woken up anyway. The room is pleasantly chilly, and he doesn't want to leave yet, doesn't want to return to his own empty apartment.

He does anyway. He finds some paper and leaves a note that reads _Thanks for the wine_. He signs his name and quietly exits, throwing a glance back at Thomas, who is infuriatingly adorable while asleep.

Alexander is glad that the power cut out. He'll take being cold with Thomas over being warm alone any day.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!!!!!! :D


End file.
